Chapter 891

Li Luo had already taken a bath alone with Yan Zhusheng once before, back during last year's birthday.

At the time, Ying Chanxi and Xu Youyu were both drunk, and Yan Zhusheng seized the opportunity to drag Li Luo into her own bedroom for a bath.

Unexpectedly, tonight in the main bedroom's hot spring pool, a similar scene was about to unfold again.

Unlike last time, Yan Zhusheng had already put on a maid outfit—black skirt and white apron rippling in the water like lotus petals spreading open.

Such a sight was far more alluring than simply soaking in the bath.

Li Luo naturally couldn't resist; after stepping into the hot spring pool, he pulled Yan Zhusheng into his arms.

The two lingered affectionately in the bathroom for over an hour before emerging.

Lying on the massive main bedroom bed, even if both lay in a starfish pose, it still felt too spacious.

"We could roll around several times," Yan Zhusheng said, rolling from Li Luo's side all the way to the bed's edge, then spinning back, her face still flushed from the bath, before crashing into Li Luo's arms.

"Stop fooling around," Li Luo laughed. "We've got things to do tomorrow."

"What things?"

"I have to go to the company during the day, finish up routine tasks early, then in the evening I need to go to Youyu's place to have dinner with Uncle Xu and the others," Li Luo said. "We also need to talk again about all this between us."

"Will your senior sister's parents agree?" Yan Zhusheng asked, lying atop Li Luo, her chin resting on his chest, swaying her head side to side. "It doesn't seem easy."

"It's all about human effort," Li Luo patted her back, his hands instinctively sliding over Yan Zhusheng's smooth, delicate thighs. "Just stay home quietly, or go visit Yinghuan."

Xu Yinghuan's family also lived at Sky Ridge Elegant Residence; visiting her during this winter break would be convenient.

Upon hearing this, Yan Zhusheng nodded obediently. "I'll send her a WeChat message."

To handle matters on both Ying Chanxi's and Youyu's sides, Yan Zhusheng could no longer offer real help.

Or rather, when she had confronted the elders at the dinner table just two days ago, she had already delivered her greatest contribution.

She had single-handedly thrown the entire situation into chaos.

Simply preventing everyone from shouting at each other during dinner was already her greatest achievement.

But after that, Li Luo knew clearly: ultimately, all four of them needed to show the same attitude.

They didn't want to rupture their relationships with the elders, which was why they were being so cautious.

Otherwise, if they simply followed their own desires, with their current abilities, wouldn't running away together be effortless?

But that's not the life the four of them wanted.

"Hey? What now?"

As Li Luo was thinking about these things, Ying Chanxi's voice suddenly came from beside him.

Li Luo turned his head and saw that Yan Zhusheng had initiated a WeChat video call to Ying Chanxi.

On the other end, Ying Chanxi lay on her side in a dim room, the phone's glow illuminating her pale face, revealing a puzzled expression.

"Nothing," Yan Zhusheng said, still lying atop Li Luo, tilting her head toward the phone screen. "I just thought you might feel lonely sleeping alone over there, so I called you."

"Are you crazy?" Ying Chanxi's face twisted in disbelief, yet she couldn't bring herself to hang up—her eyes remained locked on Li Luo's face, unable to look away. She settled for asking a random question: "Aren't you going to sleep yet?"

"We're just about to sleep," Li Luo replied. "How about you?"

"Same as always," Ying Chanxi sighed. "But Mom's already thinking of a plan—she mentioned it to me tonight."

"What plan?" Yan Zhusheng asked curiously.

"It's a simple trick," Ying Chanxi said. "Mom plans to pretend she has a sponsorship deal to discuss and invite Dad to dinner. You just wait outside."

"Sponsorship?" Li Luo thought for a moment, then smiled. "Actually, that's not even lying—I'm kind of endorsing Aunt Yuan myself."

Ying Chanxi chuckled, then added: "It'll probably happen in the next few days. Be ready—Mom said it'll likely be arranged for dinner."

"Got it," Li Luo nodded. "Don't worry—I've got nothing important going on. For now, let's focus all our energy on this."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Ying Chanxi asked, concerned. "You need to handle company matters, and you still have to write at night. Your new book just launched—it's the most critical time."

"No big issue," Li Luo shook his head. "Don't worry about me. Solve the most urgent thing first—everything else is secondary."

Though he said that, in truth, it didn't really interfere with him at all.

Although today was his first time handling company affairs alone, and he'd had to rely on Ying Chanxi's remote guidance, it was a bit chaotic.

But with the Memory Palace's help, such tasks became easier with repetition—just a few more times and it would be no problem at all, not affecting Li Luo in the slightest.

As for the new book, with 300,000 words pre-written, there was no immediate concern.

Especially these past two days, The End of the Sequence's collection count had surpassed 200,000 and was still rising at an astonishing rate.

The paid reader retention rate, with fewer than ten chapters published, had already broken 30,000.

That data was terrifying.

Remember, when Li Luo's Night Watch of Great Qian launched at around 200,000 words, its retention rate was roughly the same.

But this new book, upon release, had already drawn massive attention—surpassing the previous work's numbers despite having only 20,000 to 30,000 words written.

Any worry about negative impact would be pure overthinking.

After all, the entire novel's outline had a template to draw from, and the detailed plot had already been fleshed out before the book even launched.

Now, with the new book just starting, his writing motivation and passion were at their peak—there was no reason to fear being distracted by current events.

A typical online novel author might be affected by family matters.

But Li Luo, with the Memory Palace, had no reason to worry about this.

"If you're fine, that's good," Ying Chanxi said. "Also, Yan Zhusheng is naturally mischievous—you should keep her in check. Don't let her distract you, especially at night. Sleep early."

"Why are you worried, Sister?" Yan Zhusheng immediately leaned her head over. "If you're afraid I'll drain Li Luo dry, it's already done—in the bathroom just now."

"Who wants to hear that?!" Ying Chanxi snapped, glaring at her. "Can you just shut up?"

"Sister's so mean."

Yan Zhusheng snuggled into Li Luo's arms and muttered softly, "If you keep being so rude, I'll keep going with Li Luo—"

"You shameless brat!" Ying Chanxi gritted her teeth, unable to tolerate Yan Zhusheng's provocation, and slammed the call end button.

Yan Zhusheng blinked innocently at Li Luo.

Li Luo also looked helplessly at her, patted her little butt, and said, "Get down first—look how angry you've made Chanxi."

"Oh." Yan Zhusheng obediently climbed down and lay down beside Li Luo, "So are you still going to?"

"Listen to your sister." Li Luo pinched her cheek irritably, "Why do I feel like you're getting greedier? You can't even last long anyway."

"It's comfortable," Yan Zhusheng muttered softly.

She had an extremely sensitive constitution; though she enjoyed it, each time she couldn't last long before Li Luo left her limp and trembling.

You could say she wasn't much better off than Xu Youyu.

"Alright, go to sleep."

Gently patting Yan Zhusheng's head, Li Luo pulled her into his arms and soon fell asleep.

The next morning, Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng got up as usual and went out for a morning run.

Without Ying Chanxi joining them, the two felt oddly out of rhythm.

But just as they slowed to a jog past Qianjiang University's south gate, a figure suddenly fell in beside them, insisting on running alongside them.

The person had an excellent figure—curvy and shapely, her athletic wear doing nothing to hide her form.

Only a hat covered her head, and she'd pulled the hoodie's drawstring over it, obscuring most of her face.

Yan Zhusheng glanced curiously at her—until Li Luo, puzzled, murmured, "Youyu?"—then she suddenly realized.

"Senior?"

——

"Hey————hehe~"

The person pulled off her hat, winked at Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng, then gave a peace sign.

Li Luo slowed his pace in surprise, then came to a full stop and pulled Xu Youyu into his arms.

"Aww~" Xu Youyu leaned against Li Luo's warm chest, her lips curling involuntarily; she tilted her face up to him, grinning, "Someone's so excited? I haven't even said anything yet, and you're already hugging me?"

"Yeah." Li Luo buried his head, inhaling her familiar scent, then whispered softly, "I'm ecstatic."

Beside them, Yan Zhusheng silently stepped aside, hands in pockets, glancing left and right, keeping watch for them.

"So why are you here?" Li Luo carried Xu Youyu to the shade beneath a tree by the campus wall and asked quietly.

"Because I missed you so much." Xu Youyu clung tightly to his neck, a hint of pride in her voice; she lifted her chin, looking up with an expression begging for praise, "I've been getting up every morning to run these past few days—I've stuck with it for days now."

"When I found out you were back yesterday, I got up extra early today just to wait here."

"And look—I ran into you~"

Li Luo hadn't expected Xu Youyu to actually stick to morning runs on her own—he froze in surprise.

"That's impressive?"

"Of course~" Xu Youyu huffed twice, then leaned close to his ear, "Wait till my stamina bar goes up—you'll see how I'll take care of you in bed."

"Hah, already getting cocky after just a few days?" Li Luo lowered his head, pressing his forehead to hers, grinning, then couldn't help but kiss her lips.

Xu Youyu offered no resistance; she clasped his neck tightly, and the two kissed passionately in the winter wind.

After a long while, they finally pulled apart, reluctant to let go.

"I'll probably come to your place around four or five this afternoon," Li Luo said. "I already arranged it with your dad yesterday."

"Mm, I know," Xu Youyu nodded lightly. "Then it'll be up to your performance tonight—but I don't think your parents are easy to convince. They don't seem like they'll give in easily."

"It's fine. This isn't urgent," Li Luo said. "I don't expect one meal to solve everything—we can take it slow."

"I believe in you." Xu Youyu rose on her toes and kissed him again, then frowned in worry, "But if this drags on too long, what if I just want to see you? I can't only meet you during morning runs, can I?"

"What else do you want?" Li Luo chuckled, tilting her chin teasingly. "Someone's getting restless?"

"Restless? It's not just my mind." Xu Youyu huffed, leaned close to his ear, and blew warm air as she bit his lobe, "Other places are itchy too."

Li Luo's whole body grew hot from her words.

Too bad they were outside, in broad daylight—there was nothing he could do.

So he gritted his teeth and said, "You'll wait."

"Mmm~" Xu Youyu's lips curled as she watched his pained expression.

But then Li Luo added, "Remember your work seminar? I'll get them to hurry things up after I get back."

"Today's the 23rd. How about setting the seminar for the 27th?"

"You, as the author, better show up on time."

Hearing this, Xu Youyu's eyes lit up, then she worried again, "I'm afraid my parents won't let me go."

"It's worth a try," Li Luo whispered. "After I leave today, ask again in a couple days—start by asking Uncle Xu."

"Got it, I'll try," Xu Youyu smiled, giving his chest a light tap. "Someone's really gone to great lengths for this, hasn't he?"

"What are you talking about?" Li Luo said seriously. "I'm just helping you manage the film and TV rights. What are you imagining?"

"Hmph~" Xu Youyu's smile widened, but she didn't bother exposing him. "Fine, let's say that's it."

The two lingered affectionately by the campus wall for a long time before finally parting.

The three continued their morning run, circling Qianjiang University, after which Li Luo personally escorted Xu Youyu home.

Arriving at the staff housing complex, Li Luo stared at the gate, recalling how, in his past life, he'd first met Xu Youyu—also here, dropping her off.

Back then, he hadn't gone inside; he'd parted from her at the gate.

"Why are you doing that?"

Xu Youyu walked toward the complex and noticed Li Luo following her in—she grew flustered. "Be careful! Everyone here knows me."

"Who's out this early?" Li Luo trailed her down to the building, slipped into the stairwell, and pinned her against the wall.

Yan Zhusheng crouched again at the stairwell entrance, keeping watch; after a while, she muttered, "Still not done? It's been almost half an hour."